David Cameron Rules Out Second EU Referendum After Brexit

Britain: David Cameron has said there is little chance of a second referendum being held over the UK’s membership of the EU.

The comments come as the head of the Brexit camp said it was important to call off on the formal process of leaving the EU because people need to “go away on holiday”.

- Advertisement -

Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott backed Mr Cameron’s decision to delay the “divorce” for several months while a new prime minister is chosen, despite pressure from Brussels for a rapid departure.

“I don’t think we need to rush this process,” he told US TV channel CNBC.

“During the campaign there was talk about triggering article 50 and its process of leaving the EU right away, literally Friday morning, and I think quite rightly the PM has paused on that which allows the dust to settle, allows people to go away on holiday, have some informal discussions about it, and then think about it come September/October time.”

He said Vote Leave had “done lots of detailed planning” for Brexit and suggested Michael Gove was “probably the man to lead the negotiations” – but dismissed the idea of any formal role for Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

Economic turbulence would “settle very quickly”, he predicted.

Earlier, sterling slipped to a new 31-year low against the dollar as George Osborne sought to calm volatile markets. The pound had dipped to $1.3231 on Thursday night – the lowest since 1985 – as the referendum result came into focus and traders sold sterling. But it recovered slightly over the following 24 hours.

Yet in trading today the pound dipped below that level, as a statement by the Chancellor, George Osborne, highlighting the “strength” of the UK economy, failed to assuage concerns.

Boris Johnson, the figurehead of the Leave campaign and presumed Conservative leadership contender, said in his Daily Telegraph column this morning that “the pound remains higher than it was in 2013 and 2014”. But he is believed to have been referring to the pound versus the euro, not the dollar.

In another sign of growing financial stress 10 year government bond yields – known as Gilts – fell below 1 per cent for the first time in history.